Eli Lake, Columnist

Where Islamic State Stumbles in Its War With Al-Qaeda

Its recent victories don't tell the whole story.

February 23, 2016 at 11:00 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

What's on the horizon for Islamic State?
Photographer: MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images

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Since al-Qaeda expelled it from its ranks a little more than two years ago, the Islamic State has been on a tear. It has taken Iraq's second-largest city, declared itself a caliphate, won over al Qaeda affiliates in Sinai and Nigeria, and conducted high-profile terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

But that's only part of the story. Despite these victories, the Islamic State has had a difficult time establishing and retaining its new affiliates. From Algeria to Afghanistan, its fledgling franchises have come under siege from local rivals and government forces. Far from displacing al-Qaeda as the jihadi vanguard, the Islamic State has found itself in a very real war with its former patrons throughout the Muslim world.